Now
imagine them dead.
That’s 14 million people—and that’s the estimate
of how many Africans have been killed by AIDS. Fourteen million. An
estimated 23 million are HIV positive. This is the staggering scale
of the AIDS epidemic that holds Africa in its tightening grip. And
in most regions of that continent, total spending on all health care
and prevention averages US$4 per person per year. We have to do something—we
have to help.

In this, the year 2000, estimated life expectancy in Zimbabwe, Botswana,
Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia is less than 40 years. How old are you?

In Zimbabwe, about 80,000 people die from AIDS every year. There are
some 800,000 orphans. One of every four adults is HIV infected.

Where to begin? The effort to fight this enormous problem has to start
somewhere—why not in one of Portland’s sister cities?

You Can Do Something Right Now
No enemy is too big to take on, no challenge is too overwhelming to
face. All we have to do is begin. You can take on the AIDS epidemic
in Africa right now, with nothing more than a pen, your checkbook
and your generosity. Please help. In Zimbabwe alone, nearly 10 people
died from AIDS in just the last hour. Two-hundred-twenty will die
today. You can begin to help today. What more can we say? Thank you
for listening.